Bubba's Fic Idea Vault

by bubbajack

Welcome one and all to the Mysterious Idea Vault. Hidden away are stories created by the writer Bubbjack. Come and view the stories he writes and help him determine which should be continued and which should remain in the vault. Go ahead and review. These will help us in the editing team decide on new stories. Pairings: Harem. Beware Mature Content! Now come along!

4. Chapter 4

Chiropteran

By: Bubbajack

Editors/Beta: IcySnowSage, First Hassan

Disclaimer: I'm only gonna say this once. I DO. NOT. OWN. Buffy the Vampire Slayer, or any variant of Batman. They belong to Joss Whedon and DC Comics. I also don't own Marvel, they are Disney's multi-billion dollar worn out bitch, and Worm is owned by Windbow.

He is Alexander Lavelle Harris. He is Vengeance. He is the Knight. He is Batman… Seven of them. He is the Chiropteran. This is his story.

Note: Special thanks to our Super Donors Ben Wanless, Bobby Glass, CrazymanDK, Jac, Jareth Norris, Meraj Alimi, and Selmephren.

Ch.1: Would you like to play a game?

(…)

Alexander Lavelle Harris woke up with a debilitating headache. Throwing the sheets off his bed with a groan as he rubbed his temples as his head throbbed, he asked himself, "What the hell happened last night?"

Looking around, he found a glass of water and some aspirin sitting on a nightstand and without thinking, downed them. It was only after he finished the drink and accompanying pills that he thought to himself, 'Wait, since when did I have a nightstand?' He peered into the dark and noticed on top of the nightstand was also a digital clock. Which he also didn't have, that read 10:30am. Blinking owlishly, Xander sat up on his bed noting it was a lot more comfortable than the old boxspring he was used to. 'What the hell is going on?' he felt around the bed and eventually touched a wooden bedpost. 'A four poster bed? Not in my wildest dreams and… is this carpet on the floor? I don't think I'm in the basement anymore.' He thought as he half stumbled around in the dark moving towards a sliver of light coming from a giant set of blinds.

Pulling them open Xander nearly blinded himself, but the feeling quickly subsided and he found himself standing in front of a glass door leading to a balcony which was overlooking a rather large estate. The lawn was well maintained, hedges were surrounded by large stone walls and a wrought iron fence in the distance and a misty haze like London fog was set over the grounds while the sky was gloomily overcast. "Okay Xander, you've been kidnapped by rich folk, this isn't the weirdest thing to ever happen to you… just probably the most pleasant."

Looking back into the room he found the furnishings to be made out of rich bubinga wood with brass fittings, and his rug, not carpet, was that of a polar bear skin. Sitting on a desk was a computer idling waiting to be turned on. The walls were painted wine red, but the pictures hanging on them but it was the pictures hanging on them that caught his attention. They were of him. Up to about a year or so ago with his parents only they looked… well they looked rich. 'Okay, I'm officially confused, what the hell is going on?' He glanced at the computer on the desk, 'Maybe it will have some answers,' Turning it on he noted the operating system was called Windows Lex P. "What the hell?" Ignoring that for a moment he started snooping around. He found several folders.

One was labeled "The Company" another titled, "Assets" a third that said "Click on me" and the last said "Open upon death"

"Okay that's not ominous…" Deciding to follow his gut, Xander clicked on the "Click on me" folder.

It opened and a video started playing. It showed himself, sitting in a chair. He waved at himself before speaking. "Hey Xander, I bet you're super confused right about now right?"

"Yeah, that sounds about right, what did you do past me?"

"Last night on Halloweenhalloween in case you forgot, you dressed up as Batman… only you didn't specify which one… then some jackass mage decided to do some jackassery and well that caught the eye of a couple of entities from the Fifth Dimension… I'm sure you can guess who."

Xander ran his hands down his face. "Oh no…"

Suddenly the camera was turned around to face the person holding it, that person being a midget in a batman costume. "That's right, old buddy ole pal!" Suddenly a pair of hands reached out of his computer screen and grabbed him. "It's meee! Bat Mite."

Xander wanted to sigh, but Bat Mite wasn't the worst person he could've bumped into, so he said, "Oh great… what does Batman's biggest fan want with me… in fact where in the hell am I?"

Bat Mite looked at him like he was crazy, "Well, you're in Gotham of course, where else would the bestest Batman ever be?" the Fifth Dimensional Imp replied as he pulled himself fully out of the computer.

"Okay… Bat Mite you're gonna have to back up, why am I in Gotham? How am I the greatest Batman ever, and I bet I'm gonna regret asking this last one but… Where is ?"

"Ohh boy kiddo, you don't remember anything from last night, do ya?" a scratchy voice called from behind him.

Turning around he saw a short older man who seemed to be in mourning in an all black tuxedo.

"What's the occasion for the funeral wear?" Xander asked, slightly worried.

"Some dear friends of mine passed away. Anyways back to you," stated Mr. Mxyzptlk transforming back into his regular clothes, a tan and blue trimmed space uniform complete with a black bowler cap, blue gloves, and matching boots. "But anyway, yeah you may not remember but you made a deal with Mite and me."

Eyes widening in abject terror, Xander asked, "Deal? What kind of deal?"

"Batsy, did you actually let him finish watching the video before you popped out?" Mr. Mxyzptlk asked in exasperation.

"I was just so excited! This is gonna be so much fun!" Bat Mite said bouncing off the walls… literally he was bouncing around like a rubber ball.

Mxyzptlk pulled out a racket and swatted him out of the air, saying "Fore!" When the other Fifth Dimensional being was splattered like a tomato against the wall, Mr. Mxyzptlk told him, "Get ahold of yourself! The game can't begin properly until the player knows the rules." Turning to Xander he said, "Finish the video and then we can jaw jaw a bit more… or war war it's up to you."

Shaking his head Xander clicked play on the video again, it lagged for a moment before showing himself speaking again. "Yeah, it's exactly who you think it is but it's not all bad Xan-Man, besides having super powers, an IQ well over 200, and being you know rich, you also did one other thing… tell him fellas."

"You asked us to make sure Elizabeth Anne Summers never became the Slayer. It wasn't exactly hard… but we just decided to do away with that mess altogether." Mr. Mxyzptlk revealed.

Holding his head in his hands, Xander said, "Oh thank God…"

"Your welcome… Can we get to the fun stuff now?" Batmite asked, getting ready to bounce around his room again.

said, "Patience is a virtue, Batsy."

"What's a virtue?" Batmite replied confused.

Sighing the older of the higher dimensional beings continued speaking focusing on Xander, "Anyway… You've got a full suite of powers kid. If you wanna know what they all are, maybe you should make like Alice and take a trip down the rabbit hole of your own mind, eh?"

"That's a fancy way of telling me to meditate ," Xander answered.

The higher being shook his head before he snapped his fingers, "No, that's not what I mean at all, Batsy get the mallet."

"Coming right up!" the bat fanboy said, pulling a comically large wooden mallet from behind his back.

Xander shook his head and waved his hands, "Wait, wait no!"

But it was too late, the last thing Xander saw was a large chunk of wood zooming towards his skull before his lights went out.

(...)

"Damn it," Xander cursed to himself as he came to this time sitting in a high back chair facing a semicircle table. "I'm getting really tired of waking up with headaches." He said to himself before he looked at the people sitting around the table, all of them were variations of the Caped crusader. 'Strike that,' Xander thought as he noted a person on the end was fucking Rorarsharch. 'Just most of them,' Putting his best goofy smile on his face he asked, "Wow I feel underdressed. No cape, no cowl, not even a mask. Gimme a sec and I bet I can get my underwear off and on over my pants at least."

"Please don't," A young sounding Batman in a black suit with a red bat sigil on his chest said as he tried not to laugh.

"Fine, fine, leave me to be the odd man out… but seriously, where are we fellas?" Xander asked as looked around. It was a dark room, dimly lit by torches set into sconces on the walls. The stone was roughly carved and the occasional bat flew overhead screeching into the darkness.

"Well…" The young batman began only for one who looked like a hybrid between Batman and Wolverine to grunt out, "We're in your head kid, this is your mindscape, your mental batcave."

"Oh," Xander said as he looked around again before asking, "Why's it so…empty?"

"That's because, while you're smart, you never challenged nor applied yourself," Another Bat fusion, this one looking like a Batman/Flash combo piped up. "You have potential, vast, near limitless potential, but you never bothered to apply yourself. Instead, you let basically everyone else do all the heavy lifting except for when you were forced to act."

Xander shrugged, frowning at the assembled heroes, "Well, excuse me, but I'm not a super powered cheerleader or magic learning hacker, whataya want from me?"

"None of us were anything more than a man with determination at first." A batman that looked like he had a Green Lantern ring added, though he honestly wondered what the tubes coming out of his neck were for. "You too, have great willpower, and the ability to overcome great fear."

"Uhhuh… Xander deadpanned. "Before we go any further, can I get some introductions? Like I know that almost all of you," He gave a brief nod to Rorsharch as he continued, "Are all Batman, but there has to be some way to differentiate you guys." He pointed to the Wolverine-Batman hybrid and said, "You go first, chuckles."

Raising a fist, a trio of foot long adamantium claws popped out from between his knuckles with a snicket he said, "I'm Darkclaw, aka Logan Wayne, when I saw my parents get shot in crime alley, my X-gene triggered and I developed bone claws and a healing factor. I lived with my uncle in Canada until he died and ended up signing up for the Weapon X Program which is where I got the adamantium from."

"Neat, you're next nightlight," Xander said pointing to the man to his right, the Green Lantern bat.

"I am the Dawnbreaker, like a majority of people here, Thomas and Martha Wayne… passed that night… however it was at that very moment that I was chosen to wield a green lantern ring. I killed Joe Chill… the Ring tried to stop me at first but my will overpowered it… and I didn't stop with Chill. I personally took out every piece of villainous scum in Gotham… Even Gordon tried to stop me, the fool, The Guardians themselves all fell to my will. "

"Dude… edgelord much?" After a moment of silence, Xander addedXander said after a moment of silence, adding, "Plus you were like what eight? Giving an eight year old an object of infinite power after being emotionally traumatized probably wasn't a good idea."

"I gotta agree with the boss here," The young bat said, "Not too bright."

"I did what I had to do. Those people all tried to stop me but I proved them better," stated Dawnbreaker.

"Messing with powers beyond comprehension and then killing everyone that opposes you? Yeah definitely sounds like you were right," One of the batmen let out a raspy smoker cough before saying, "Man I need a smoke," spoke up a haggard looking batman whose costume looked more like a regular trench coat over his batman uniform. He also seemed unkempt, tired, and had a five 'o' clock shadow.

"And who might you be?" questioned Xander. He didn't know any batman that smoked or used guns now that he got a real good look at him.

"I'm damned. We all are but me? More so than most. See, I knew of magic when I trained under Giovanni John Zatarra. He taught me all manner of escape tricks… at first… but then I found out he was a real magician who knew real magic. I thought, if I could master that power, I could bring them back, mom and dad… I learned everything I could and when that wasn't enough I devoured even more, even darker knowledge," The Damned stopped, as if grimacing at a painful memory for a moment before continuing, "I soon found a means to resurrect my dead parents. I thought I could finally bring them back. Sadly, life is much more cruel. I summoned a demon instead and he decided to grant my 'wish' by trying to kill me. If Alfred wasn't there I would have died. That brave man Alfred tackled the demon and proceeded to beat the ever living shit out of with his bare fist in rage for trying to kill me. I have never seen Alfred so angry. He even grabbed an iron fire poker and stabbed the bastard in the eye. Tragically Alfred ended up stabbed in the chest with the same fire poker. Alfred didn't let that stop him though he then tackled the demon with both of them flying into the portal dragging them both to hell. I learned that day not only was I cursed to hell but I was damned as I had sent a pure soul, the closest thing I had to a father to eternal torment. I then chose to strive forward and fight all that goes bump in the night. Be they demons or criminals."

Dawnbreaker looked at the Damned and for the first time stopped and thought about what he really did with his power.

Xander on the other hand knew that there is no easy way to bring back the dead. That it was a natural thing and no matter how much he wanted to bring back Jesse. It would be wrong to do it.

For some odd reason Xander felt something was happy with his inner decision.

"Well I guess to follow that dark introduction I should introduce myself next. I am Barry Allen the Flash and also Bruce Wayne," stated the Batman flash.

"Do I even want to know how you both ended up in one body?" asked Xander with the other Batmen just as confused as how Flash and Batman ended up sharing a body.

"The Batman of my world thought he wasn't fast enough to take care of crime and handle all his villains. So he strapped me to the batmobile, forcibly tortured me into activating the speed force and then fused with me taking over my body," stated Barry Allen having the other Batmen look in disgust, even Dawnbreaker looked a little disturbed at that. Rorschach almost choked on his own spit hearing about the convoluted way a cape tried to steal another's powers. Hell if he wondered if something like that could happen with Dr. Manhattan and honestly he didn't want to know.

"He then named us the Red Death after he proceeded to murder my Rogue's Gallery then his own Rogues," signed Barry wondering just how far Bruce had fallen.

"How are you in control now?" asked Xander wondering how that happened.

"Bat-mite. He found me inside Bruce's mind and offered me a deal to take control. All I had to do was help tutor you and lend you my powers. Congratulations Alexander and welcome to the Flash Family!" The Red Death took off his mask and showed how thankful he was. The true smile oh so foreign on any Bruce's face showed how sincere and happy the Red Death was to be able to help Xander. Xander did notice how scarred and weathered the Red Death looked without his costume on though.

"You're up, kid," Xanders said, pointing to the young kid in the Batsuit.

Taking off the cowl, he revealed a young face, of roughly thirty with black hair and blue eyes. Smiling, he introduced himself, "I'm Terry McGinnis. I'm…The next Batman. For lack of a better term. It was rough taking over for the old man when he got too old, but I managed. The city was different then. Gotham was different then. Splicing was a thing, The jokers were a gang, Mutants were rampant, but I don't regret taking up the Cape or the cowl."

"Huh, so he really does get a decent protege, willing to take up the mantle," Xander mused. "Good to know." He then turned to the hulking Gray mass of a man in a tattered bat cowl. "What's your story, Gray Hulk?"

Clearing his throat, the creature spoke, his tone like gravel, being minced in a blender, "I am the Devastator. I'm what you get when Superman finally snapped somehow for some reason. Having no other choice, I injected myself with the doomsday virus. It allowed me the strength to fight Superman on even footing. Even as he ripped my limbs off and burnt my skull to ash, I was able to keep fighting and eventually defeat him."

"Wow," Xander said, "That was really stupid, I know of a version of you that, pushing the age of ninety, managed to defeat Superman with nothing but his gadgets and a kryptonite arrow fired by Green Arrow, who had one hand. He didn't resort to stupidly infecting himself with a virus."

" impressive," The Devastator said after a moment wondering if that would have been easier to do against Clark.

Looking over at the Medieval knight bedecked in Batmanish armor, Xander said. You're Azrael, aren't you? Knight of Saint Dumas."

"I was once long ago. While I still go by Azrael, It would be best just to call me Jean Paul Valley." The man said as he took off his own cowl, revealing blonde hair and blue eyes. "Since you know who I am, I'm sure you also know that with me, you have enhanced strength, agility, perception and senses, beyond that of a normal human being. And I'm assuming that goes double with Mr Logan Wayne here too."

"Probably," Darkclaw grunted.

Xander nodded. "That's good to know," He then turned to the mystery of the bunch. The unknown variable in this hall of unknown amongst the known. Looking at him point blank, he asked, "Why the hell are you here, Rorschach?"

"Honestly, I have no damn idea. The last thing I recall is ordering Mr Manhattan to atomize me because there was no way in hell I was going to let Ozymandias get away with his stupid plot. For there can only be justice, and justice is black and white. No in between. No compromise. The villains cannot win if you give them an inch, for they will take a mile."

'Oof,' Xander thought. 'It's like a cavalcade of what not to do as Batman,' He thought as he looked around the table at all the Caped Crusaders. 'Hell, the only good people here are McGinnis, Dark Claw and maybe me,' So thinking he sighed. And addressed the group as a whole. "Alright everybody, this is how it's going to work.I am in charge. This is my body and you're all going to be paying rent. How, you may ask? You're going to show me what you've got. And give me what you can. Whether that's information, advice, tactics, or powers. I don't really care, but you're going to pay up somehow since you're stuck in my head. Understand?"

The Batman looked at each other for a moment, and then nodded. "It's not like we have anywhere else to be?" Barry Allen replied. "You should also be made aware that you have a healing factor that is practically off the charts between the Speedforce, Logan Wayne's, and Devastators healing factors, along with Jean Paul Valleys. It's going to be hard to kill you, and anything that actually manages to do that well again… Devastator."

"I should mention," the Devastator began, "That you'll be starting out at square one with my regenerative healing factor. IE anything can kill you at the moment."

So it's like building up a tolerance… To death," Xander summarized while grimacing at the prospect of dying.

The transforming Batman succinctly, "Yes."

"You also have an adamantium coated skeleton and bone claws," Dark Claw informed him.

"The added weight might make you a bit slower than the average Flash," Barry warned.

Xander nodded, "I'll take that under consideration. Thank you," He looked around those assembled at the table, "Is there anything else I need to know right now?"

"My ring," Dawnbreaker replied. "Is filled with the darkness of every single Batman here, and even your own. That darkness consumed it, broke it, changed it. It's not a normal Green Lantern ring anymore. It's something different. Changed."

"Sounds wiggy," Xander replied,"Should I be concerned?"

"I don't think so. You should be able to handle it just fine… Also wiggy?" Dawnbreaker asked, working an eyebrow under his cowl at the somewhat childish description of the situation.

Xander rolled his eyes, "It's a So Cal thing. Don't judge me."

"Too late for that," Dawnbreaker replied with a smirk on his lips, resisting the urge to laugh.

"If that's all, gentlemen, I'll talk to you later," Xander said as he walked into the darkness.

(...)

Xander awoke with a light grown, his headache quickly dissipated thanks to his now active massive healing factor. "That's a plus," He said to himself, as he picked himself up off the floor. Going to his closet, he threw it open and looked over his collection of clothes. He had a walk-in closet that primarily consisted of suits, and other attire that you would expect of a rich person, watches and rings sat out on display, and ties were hung up waiting to be put on. Xander looked around at all of this and thought to himself, 'I need to go shopping for something different, more casual, a bit more laid back. At least for when I'm around the house.'

So thinking he put on a suit as if it were second nature, before leaving his room. Tightening up the red and black tie as he went. As he walked down the halls that were framed with pictures of ancestors passed. They all seemed to be looking down at him, judging him, seeing if he was worthy, and honestly it kind of freaked Xander out. Then He heard a piano playing. Intrigued, he followed the sound to a music room that was vast, open, and full of natural sunlight, such as it was. Sitting there in front of a baby grand piano was a woman. She had reddish hair, was pale, almost unnaturally, and so and she was wearing a feminine looking butler outfit, complete with tie as she expertly played the keys on the face stoic never changing even as the song rose and fell to the rhythm. She didn't look all that tall, maybe 5'4 at the most and the moment he looked at her, a name popped into his head and a name he didn't know, but felt he should know.

Dorothy Wainwright.

Once, Beethoven's second Sonata finished. Xander called into the room. "Good one, Dorothy, but do you happen to know any jazz?"

Glancing at him stoically, the woman swiftly replied, "It's about time you got up, Alexander Lavelle Harris, you louse."

"Love you too Dorothy," Xander replied, smirking as he rolled his eyes at her dry wit and barbs.

Cocking her head to the side, Dorothy asked, "Are you alright, Xander? You're acting unusually chipper today. Usually by now you would be telling me to start cleaning up the house and that my terrible music woke you up?"

"I…" Xander replied, pausing as memories that were but weren't his, flashed across his mind.

That of, a drunken lout throwing things. That of himself being rude and shoving the help, including Dorothy and an older gentleman out of his way while he tried to grab a bottle of liquor to make the nightmares go away. Father, in a drunken rage, attacking himself and his mother. Xander gotgetting drunk off his ass and smokedsmoking cigars dipped in cognac to forget the horrors of that night, even as the burn and haze was lifted due to his healing factor. And thousands of other annoying little things that Xander himself would never do. But the memories just wouldn't go away and kept coming back. Of his father killing his mother in a drunken rage, accusing her of infidelity and then coming at him with a broken liquor bottle. Only for the bone claws to pop out from his knuckles as he impaled the man in self defense tears streaming down his face at the living tragedy before his eyes.

Grimacing, Xander replied, "I can't dwell on it, so I'm going to do the best I can Dorothy. I also realized that I was kind of a dick, so… Sorry about that."

Dorothy stared at him a moment longer before nodding herself. "Apology accepted. You louse," This time, she said it with the ghost of a smile on her face, making that made Xander feel fuzzy inside.

"I deserve that," Xander said while his other trusted confidant came to mind, "Where's Norman?"

"In the garage, fixing up the Griffin, I believe," Dorothy said with her lips pursed, "Since you almost wrecked it with your drunken joyride last night."

Rubbing the back of his head, Xander chuckled sheepishly, saying, "Yeah, I think I'm definitely going to be toning down on the alcohol for now on."

"That would probably be for the best. Would you like me to cook you some breakfast, master?"

"Sure, as long as you never call me master again," Xander retorted. "Just call me Xander, Dorothy."

"As you command, Master Xander." Dorothy said with a curtsey as she stood up from the piano seat.

Xander could only laugh at her wit and tact.

(...)

Following her into the kitchen, he found it to be a wide, spacious place with an island in the middle of the kitchen, pots and pans hanging above it, the stove to the left, and a giant freezer to the right. And a refrigerator off to the side. Yet despite the glitz and glamor of stainless steel surrounding him, Xander just couldn't get over the overcast skies that seemed to be everywhere. Almost as if the gloom was following him. "Where the hell even are we?" He asked no one in particular as he spoke.

"We're in the Harris estate. Your family estate Master Xander. In Gotham?" She placed her hand on his head, checking to see if he had a temperature. "Did you get a concussion in the car crash last night?"

"Uh, maybe?" Xander replied, not wanting to tell her what was really going on with him. "Been a rough couple of days, 'cause you know'?"

Dorothy nodded, as if in sympathy as she pulled open the fridge and pulled out a carton of eggs and began to make an omelet, along with sausages. "I understand, or at least I think I parents were kind enough to take me in despite being what I am. They were decent people underneathUnderneath all the booze, drunkenness, and money, they were decent people. Alexander, please don't forget that. Also know that despite what happened, it isn't your fault," She looked directly into his eyes as she spoke the last part as if trying to reassure him in her own way.

"Thanks, Dorothy, I appreciate that," He said trying to smile, even though it came out as more of a grimace. "You finish up the cooking, I'll Let Norman know breakfast is almost ready."

"You don't have to. You can just go-"

Dorothy began only to get cut off by Xander who said, "It's just the three of us now, Dorothy. We need to start looking after each other, and act more like a family, than masters and servants," He said as he walked away, his feet seemingly knowing the way towards the garage.

"Family, huh?" Dorothy thought with a smile as she continued cooking.

(...)

The garage, if it could be called that, was more like a museum to classic cars, than a garage. Everything from old Lincolns to hot rods to Shelby Cobra, and Cobra Roadsters were sitting there, just gleaming as if they had been freshly waxed. 'Which, considering my Butler, is Norman Burg, they might have been,' Xander thought to himself. As he prowled in the darkness between the fluorescent shoes nary making a sound on the concrete floor as he looked for his last remaining family member in this life.

Xander found him working on an old Lincoln. Chest deep in its internal engine. The driver's side of it looked like it had been hit by a truck. 'And considering this is Gotham, it might have been,' Xander considered, as he politely cleared his throat. Getting his butler's attention in the process.

The elderly man glanced up from his work, his white whiskers trailing down his face, his snow white hair impeccably combed back, one eye covered by an eye patch, his body was rail thin, and his iron pressed black work attire was pulled back to the elbow, to keep the grease off it. "Sir, I can't tell you how relieved I am to see you're alive. If you had died, who would pay me?"

"Good to see you too, Norman. Sorry about last night. It's been… A rough couple of days. Speaking of payments, how about a raise for having to handle my screw ups?" chatted Xander

Norman closed his single remaining blue eye and nodded, understandingly, " Certainly, Sir. Understandable of course, I do hope you won't drink and drive again. We almost lost you. I would be remiss if I didn't reprimand you for acting like a fool I feel. Also I could do with some extra pocket money. This is Gotham after all."

"I get it. Norman and I understand. Thank you. I've just come out here to tell you that Dorothy is almost finished making breakfast. After that.. Well, I need to make some plans," Xander stated with all the seriousness he could muster.

"Plans, Sir?" The Butler said, opening his eye and peering at his young ward curiously. Noticing a certain intensity around him that he hadn't noticed before.

Xander nodded resolutely, "I think it's time… For a change. For me to change I mean. I've been coasting on the family fortune for too long, but I think it's time. That I actually did something with it."

"Very good Sir," The Butler said as he wiped his greasy hands off on a rag, "Lets converse all about it over breakfast. In fact I have quite a few resources and contacts that might help us."

"That's the plan," Xander said as he led the way back inside.

(...)

"So," Norman began after he finished the meal of eggs, toast and tea Dorothy had provided. "What exactly are these mysterious plans of yours, young master Alexander?"

Rubbing his full stomach, Xander quickly repliedwas quick to reply, "First, thanks for the meal, Dorothy. Second, I intend to check the refineries around Gotham. See what I can do to go green, Do better for the environment you know? After that I might get out of here for a while. 'cause you know? Young kid kills his dad. Kinda looks bad."

Grimacing, the Butler replied "As much as I hate to agree with you on that subject, Sir, you may have a point. Besides, it might do you well to get out of Gotham for a while. Get, Get some sun. You know."

Xander shrugged. "Yeah, I guess," Before blowing some air out of his mouth and saying "Besides, we own more distilleries than just here around Gotham. We own quite a few up in Boston. Too, don't we? I hear it's nice this time of year."

Norman nodded in agreement, "Indeed, Sir, sShall you be taking Dorothy with you? Or going alone?"

Looking at the stoic and askanced girl, Xander said, "Do you feel like going on a business road trip with me, Dorothy?"

"Well, I can't in good conscience leave you by yourself, you lazy louse," The dour girl replied with an unusual smile on her lips. " So naturally, I'm coming along, if only to keep you on schedule."

"I guess I'll Get a car for two," Xander said to himself. "Dorothy pack a bag. We're probably going to be gone for a couple weeks."

Norman chuckled and said with dry wit, "Oh joy, that means I finally get to throw one of my infamous parties."

"Yeah, yeah, just don't be hanging from the chandelier when we come back, old man," Xander said with a laugh as he stood up and left the kitchen.

Norman could only smile slightlyoffer a slight smile at Master Alexander laughing at one of his quips.

(...)

When Dorothy came in, Xander was in the middle of packing his bag, when Dorothy came in. "Did you finish packing already?" He asked.

"Yes. And now I'm here to make sure you pack the appropriate clothing," She replied briskly, as she looked into his bag.

"I think I know how to pack a suitcase, Dorothy," Xander replied as he rolled his eyes.

His maid blinked at him for a moment before replying. "You would think that at your age, but you've proved me wrong before. So humor me, you louse."

"Fine~!" Xander sighed, "See for yourself if you don't believe me," he said, opening his bag for her perusal.

Dorothy did just that, taking everything out, and looking at it with a keen eye. There were dark dress pants, polo shirts, long sleeve shirts, shoes, along with several watches and tasteful rings neatly set aside, and luckily for Dorothy not a drop of alcohol or any other recreational drug. She then just gently put everything back where she found it, before saying, "I am surprised you actually do know how to pack a bag. You're not entirely useless after all."

"I take offense to that," Xander replied.

Dorothy didn't say anything. She just shrugged as she continued, "Don't forget the amenities like toothbrush, toothpaste, and a pillow. Forgot your pillow once. You got all kinds of pissy, sir."

'God, the previous me was a whiny little shit,' Xander thought to himself.

Norman popped his head in the door and spoke, "I'm glad I caught you, sir. I just thought I should let you know that Bruce Wayne is asking for you at his gala tonight."

"The hell would Bruce Wayne of all people want to see me at any social function of his, knowing what I did so recently Norman?"

"I do believe it could be a certain sense of moral obligation, master Harris. Considering what happened to him at a tender young age as well?" stated Norman as he thought about the similarities between Alexander and Mister Wayne.

"Ah. Yeah, that would do it," Xander rolled a hand down his face as he sighed. 'I really wanted to avoid Bruce for as long as I could, but if he's asking for me personally, then it would be awkward if I refused,' making up his mind, he said. "Tell him I'll be there, Norman."

"Certainly, Sir. I'll let Mr Pennyworth know," spoke Norman with his regular monotone missing.

Before he left, Xander quipped, "Feel free to let him know that if this blows up in my face, I blame Bruce."

I'll let him know, Sir, but at least pray for the best?" Norman advised while a small smile made its way on his face.

"I'll prepare for the worst," Xander replied as his butler left the room to RSVP the arrangements.

(...)

Wayne Manor was just as imposing as Xander always thought it would be. Gothic architecture sat on a foreboding hill, at least a good 10 miles outside of town. The grounds were at the moment, rife with cars of the rich, and all the lights in the gothic style mansion were once, the house was alive with music and people.

'Uh, this must be driving Bruce nuts,' Xander thought to himself as he stepped out of the Rolls Royce he had ridden up in. Norman got to the door and opened it for him by the time he had gotten his seat belt off. "Thank you, Norman," He said as he walked into the brisk breeze of the chilly Gotham night. Climbing the stone steps to Wayne manor proper, he was greeted by the Alfred Pennyworth at the door.

"I am so glad you could make it young master Alexander. Master Bruce has been terribly worried about you since the incident, and it'll do his heart good to see that you are up and about and well," Alfred greeted. "Ah, pardon my rudeness. May I take your coat?"

"Thank you, Alfred. I've got a feeling I won't be staying long," Xander replied, As he swept his gaze around the room. Socialites, debutantes, the rich and gaudy, dressed in their best gowns, suits, and uniforms. All looking to be the who's who, of another Wayne gala. Yet when he entered the whisperings suddenly stopped and everyone seemed to stare. He knew why, of course. He had enhanced hearing,as keen as any bloodhounds or otherwise.

'I heard he killed them both,' One said.

'I heard his father went mad and killed his he killed his father,' Went to another.

'I heard he killed them both with poison. Then the Butler buried the bodies, or tried to anyway, before the police showed up,' Went a third.

'Yeah, I pretty much expected this. Why did I show up here again?' Xander asked himself.

"Xander!" A jovial voice called. Glancing up he saw the host of this evening's revelry pretty, handsome, and the fakest smile he's ever seen. He hoped it just wasn't for this evening and for his benefit, but was one he used for everyone when outside the cape and cowl. He approached holding a champagne glass and with a quick but subtle sniff of the air, Xander could tell he could tell it was filled with nothing more than ginger ale.

"Bruce," Xanders said with a nod. "Any particular reason you asked me to be here tonight?"

Stopping in front of him, Xander could tell that he was almost as tall as Bruce himself. Xander's height standing tall was 5 foot 10 to Bruce's, is 6 foot 2. 'And I'm still growing, he thought at least a little with everything else going on with my body.'

Placing his free hand on Xander's shoulder he spoke "I know what it's like to lose your parents at a young age, and I didn't want you to have to go through it alone like I did."

"Thanks Bruce, I appreciate what you're trying to do, I really do, but our situations are completely different," Xander replied. "A mugger unjustly killed your parents Your parents were unjustly killed by a mugger. My Father killed my mother in a drunken rage and tried to kill me too, and I killed him in self defense. The only thing we both have in common, Bruce, is that we're both rich orphans. You didn't have to kill your dad. You just had to watch him die. Yours is a lot more tragic than mine."

"Don't speak to father like that!" A young boy who couldn't be older than twelve dressed in a nice child's suit demanded.

"Damien, enough!" Bruce said, barely raising his voice. He turned back to Xander, saying, "You're right. Fortunately I didn't have to take my parents' life, and they were killed by a criminal. Perhaps we're not the same, but in a way, we still are. We both lost our parents to crime. I just want you to know that regardless of what everyone may think I'm here for you. I'm in your corner Xander, and I always will be," he Held out his hand to the younger man, "Don't forget that, OK?"

Xander clasped his hand and gave it a brief shake. "I'll do my is one thing I want to know though. Does it ever get any easier? The pain I mean?"

"It gets…Easier to live with," Bruce replied.

Xander grimaced, saying, "I was afraid you'd say that," leaning in close, he whispered into Bruce's ear, "Ginger ale? Really? That's a weak disguise, even for you. Batman."

Xander felt pressure being exuded on his wrist as Bruce increased his grip strength to something uncomfortable but wouldn't break a normal human's wrist. "Why don't we go talk at my study privately for a little bit?"

"Aww, And here I was hoping to steal young Xander for myself for the evening," a sophisticated feminine voice pouted.

Looking over the two was an Indian woman in a white dress, her hair black as midnight and tied in an intricate braid approaching both of them amongst the crowd of onlookers.

"Ah, Jaina, I didn't know you were going to be here this evening," Bruce greeted. "Alexander Harris. Jaina Hudson," Bruce said, making introductions without letting go of Xander's arm.

"Charmed," Xanders said, reaching out with his free hand that wasn't being crushed in Batman's death grip. "I'm sure you're just thrilled to meet a young teen murderer like myself."

Jaina chuckled at his dry wit. "On the contrary, that's all some of these idiots can talk about, like hens pecking at the ground for feed and worms. I, on the other hand, I think it was brave of you doing what you had to do to survive. Better a survivor than a corpse I say."

His stomach roiling in protest, Xander replied morosely."I don't feel brave, I feel sick whenever I think about it."

"Of course you do. He was your father. He was your parent, He also failed as your parent, He chose to try to kill you, instead of protecting you," Jaina said soothingly. "It's not your fault. You did what you had to do to survive that night," raising her voice, she said, "To any who think you are a monster for trying to protect yourself, then perhaps they are unworthy of doing business with myself and Wayne Enterprises in the future. Wouldn't you agree, Bruce?"

"Oh yes," Bruce said, raising his voice himself. Understanding what she was trying to say, "Anyone who would speak ill of someone who survived such an ordeal is surely not someone worth doing business with especially when all in Gotham know how hard it is sometimes to just survive."

And just like that, all the whispering stopped.

"I need to borrow Alexander for a bit, Jaina. I promise I'll have him back you in one piece for the rest of the night," He said as he led Xander away deeper into the bowels of Wayne Manor, with Damian following dutifully behind his father.

(...)

"So," Xander said, as he was roughly pushed into a chair when Bruce entered his study, "Do you do this to everyone who figures out your secret or just the guys? 'cause I'm pretty sure Catwoman gets sex." Not even flinching when Damian pressed a dagger to his neck Xander continued, "Where the hell were you hiding that?"

Leaning over the other side of a mahogany desk, Bruce said. "How did you figure it out?"

"It's not that hard to figure out if you think about it, Bruce. You live far enough away from Gotham to hide all kinds of fancy gadgets and stuff. You have the money and you have the motive. Anyone with half a brain who, even for a second, thinks Batman is actually real and not a myth, can figure out you're him!" Xander said, leaning forwards, completely ignoring the sharp blade being pressed against his neck that if anyone noticed didn't even break his skin. "To add onto that, you go through wards like a lonely college student goes through freaking tissue paper. Add on to that every time you get ward Batman just so happens to have another sidekick? C'mon, man?"

"He has a point, father…" Damian said before pressing the knife he had deeper into his throat. Damian noticed there was slight resistance in pushing the blade deeper. "Should we silence him? I don't think you could keep his silence like you do, Selenas' I doubt he swings that way," Damian continued while chuckling a little at his father's tumultuous sex life.

"No, and Damian put the knife away," Bruce answered in a tone that allowed no nonsense.

"Yeah, kid, you're about to get blood on my suit. And unlike the fucking Batsuit, this thing is not made of rubber and kevlar. So the blood will not come out so easily," rebuked Xander.

"Kevlar and ceramic actually," Bruce replied with a sigh, As he pinched the bridge of his nose. "What are we going to do with you, Xander?"

"Uhm, let me go, seeing as I was about to leave the state for Massachusetts?" replied Xander.

Bruce was surprised to hear that, "You were?"

To which, Xander deadpanned, "Wasn't even planning on coming here tonight. It was only because you insisted I show up that I'm still hereeven here right now. Being held hostage by a twelve year old, I might add."

"Damian, put the knife away," Bruce said again.

"Yes, father," Damien replied. Before hiding the knife up his sleeve.

"That's a little better. Thank you," he said, rubbingRubbing his throat to hide his healing factor, he said. "Now it seems we're at an impasse. Bruce, so how would you like to resolve this?"

"Why were you going to leave Gotham?" Bruce asked.

"Uh, because everyone thinks I'm a murderer, and I kinda of am in self defense at least?" Xander replied, the duh thick in his tone when he saw Bruce's expression, "So I figured I should leave town for a little bit until everything cools down."

Bruce nodded, "It makes sense, I suppose," he paused, And then asked. "You knew my identity, and we're planning to leave. Then why did you bring it up?"

"Oh, I just wanted to mess with you," Xander replied honestly with a shit eating grin on his face.

"You're kidding," Damien deadpanned, seeing the look on Xander's face, the latest Robin amended. "You're not kidding," he then said to his father, "I think we should just kill him for being stupid."

"No, Damian, we're not doing that," Bruce sighs, exasperation evident in his tone, thus proving that he had had to shoot down such ideas numerous times before.

Scowling, Robin asked, "Then what do you suggest father? We can't just let him go."

"Why not?" Bruce asked.

"Because he knows our secret identities?" questioned Damian.

"So do a lot of people at this point," Bruce admitted.

"Yes, but they're trustworthy, father," Damian pointed out.

Bruce scowled and thought to himself as he rubbed his chin. "Xander, can we trust you?"

"Probably not," Xander replied with a smirk on his face.

"This isn't a joke, you idiot. We could kill you and hide the body right now." Damian threatened.

"Yeah, I doubt you could get away with killing me. Considering thata certain Miss Hudson is looking forward to my company in a little bit… besides that," Xander stood up and leaned over the table himself. "Did you ever wonder what I used to defend myself with that night, Bruce?"

"The police assumed it was a meat skewer due to the impalement on your father's chest. Though they couldn't find anything like that in the kitchen," Bruce replied evenly.

"Well, they are wrong," Xander replied. As he held out his arm and released his claws with an audible snicket. Xander grunted slightly from the pain of the blades cut through his skin.

The adamantium coated bone gleamed in the dim lamp light of the study,and both Damian and Bruce stared at them in momentary awe.

"You're a mutant," Bruce said after a moment. "Is that why your father tried to kill you? He didn't think he was capable of producing a mutant child?"

Xander shrugged."I don't know. Maybe? By the time I arrived, Mom was already dead. All I heard was the gunshot."

Bruce asked a poignant question. "Were you born with the metal?"

"No, it was grafted on to me, onto my entire skeleton, actually," He coughed. "It was something my… Father wanted. I was meant to be an enforcer for the family, ensuringto make sure that our wealth grew through legal, and illegal means."

"But he got drunk, gGrew mad… With fear, rage?" Bruce questioned.

"I don't have all the answers Bruce, I just know he shipped me off to some people, and then they wanted some things, things he didn't want to deliver on," was the vague answer that Xander gave.

"I'll look into this," Bruce promised. "Can you tell me anything about this place you were sent? Anything at all?"

"Just that it was an X that looked like it was made out of a pair of bird feathers," Xander replied, looking through his other memories. "Now, if there's nothing else, I'd like to get going. It's not wise to keep a woman waiting,"

"I'll look into this," Bruce promised, "But Xander? Don't breathe a word of me being Batman to anyone. I'll know if you do."

Xander was heading to the door of the study, he turned back and smirked, "Bruce?" He said rolling up the sleeve of his suit before drawing three long lines of blood with his own claws Which healed inhumanly quickly. "You can't scare me. So for both our sakes, please stop trying,"

Xander then wiped the blood off on his Handkerchief and left the room.

Turning to his father, Damien asked, "What do we do about him, he seems to have home field advantage on us."

"To which Bruce replied, "For now, nothing. He willingly gave us information on himself to balance the scales. He didn't have to do that. He knows we're Batman and Robin, and we know he's a mutant. It's a show of faith, of trust. So we're going to leave him alone. For now."

Damian said nothing, but it was obvious from the sour look on his face made it obvious that he didn't like the idea of leaving an unknown alone.

"Leave him alone, Damian," Bruce warned.

"Yes, father," Damien replied, before leaving the room himself.

Bruce now alone collected his thoughts and put on the mask the populace was used to.

(...)

The moment Xander reentered the ballroom, he found his arm grabbed by one Jaina Hudson. She smiled lasciviously, "For a minute there, I thought you'd forgotten all about me," Smiling at him.

"Forget about you. No, never," Xander replied as he took her hand and led her out onto the dance floor, taking the lead in a graceful foxtrot. As they danced, he gently whispered into her ear, " So tell me, why did you bother to stick up for me of all people?"

"It was simply the right thing to do. You've gone through something terrible and don't deserve to be mocked for it, or pitied, or looked down on, but comforted? Yes, understood certainly but pitied and mocked behind your back? Never, no one deserves that."

Feeling like she was speaking from personal experience, Xander replied "Thanks, Jaina. I appreciate that."

"And I'm appreciating having a decent dance partner," she whispered into his ear playfully. "You have no idea how hard one of those is to find these days."

As the music ended, Xander gave a foppish bow saying, "I aim to please milady,"

Jaina giggled, covering her mouth with one hand. "Are you a Prince or a court jester, Alexander?"

"Both?" He replied seeing the smile on her face, "Both is good."

Taking him by the arm, she said. "Come, let's go see what kind of fare Master Wayne is serving his guests this evening."

At a large banquet table covered in white satin cloth, Xander found the likes of steak tartare, raw shrimp, raw oysters, and other dishes of the upper class like caviar.

"I think he's trying to starve us all to death, Jaina. That or give us food poisoning with all this raw food," Xander stage whispered which got Jaina to giggle.

"The food of the rich, not to your liking, Alexander?" Asked as she too looked over the fine diningdinings with distaste.

"Honestly, I'd kill for a pizza right now. Oh wait, That was in bad taste considering."

Jaina just laughed, "It certainly would hit the spot more than all of this, raw seafood and fish eggs. I'd push someone off a pier in cement shoes for a good vindaloo."

"Lamb?" Xander asked.

"Is there any other kind?" Jaina replied, raising an eyebrow.

To which Xander quipped, "There are several different kinds, actually, but lamb vindaloo is considered the best."

"You know your Indian food," Jaina said appreciatively.

Clearing his throat, the alcohol baron replied, "Yeah. Well, it's one of my favorites, but it's been awhile since I've had a… taste of India."

"Oh, going through a dry spell when it comes to eating Indian, are we?" Jaina said with a smirk on her lips as she pressed herself up against Xander playfully.

"It's been a minute," He replied nervously, feeling the contours of her breasts through her dress pressing into him.

The sound of glass breaking and, guns going off ruined their moment and the atmosphere as Xander without thinking, grabbed Jaina and rolled them both under the table without thinking. "What's going on?" Jaina whispered frightfully wondering what was going on and why Xander reacted like that.

"Shh," Xander replied as he peeked out from under the table cloth.

He expected someone like the Joker to be crazy enough to rob Wayne Manor. What he got when he looked under the table cloth was a bunch of fucking kids. Not a single one of them could have been older than he was with them dressed in a do it yourself uniform that you probably could have bought at Costco. And the only thing that really stood out was the freaky looking dogs they seemed to have rode in on. The person in charge, the one with the gun, was a teenager with dreadlocks wearing a scary looking mask and all dark clothing. Who had wisps of smoke coming off his figure. Considering the gun he was holding was also smoking at the barrel, he was going to assume he was the one who fired the shots in the air.

The girl next to him, a blonde in a domino mask, was wearing a purple and black leotard looking outfit with an eye in the center of its chest. She was looking at everyone and smirking occasionally at what she saw as if she had heard some kind of joke. All while holding out a large burlap bag and saying, "Alright everyone put your valuables in the bag and nobody has to get hurt except for maybe your egos. This will probably hurt your egos a lot."

Meanwhile, working the other side of the room was a midget in a green onesie wearing goggles being held aloft by mechanical spider legs. "You heard the motor mouths, snot munchers. Money in the bags. If not, well I have some toys that need human testing!"

"Hey, while we're here we may as well sample the finer things in life, right?" A gigantic red haired humanoid with a goatee spoke up. He was wearing a leotard, covered in brass, bits of metal. He nodded towards the buffet table, where Xander and Jaina were hiding, towards a girl in a simple dog costume mask and a collar.

Turning back to Jaina, Xander said,'' We need to move."

He found his date for the evening being held by a girl wearing a green kimono and wearing a cat mask, holding a knife to her throat. Holding a finger up to her masked face, she said "Shh, Nice and quiet now."

"And whose side are you on?" Xander asked as he contemplated whether he should use his powers now or keep them hidden.

Cocking his head to the side, the cat masked girl replied. "My own, for now. This way," She said before rolling out the opposite side of the table. Keeping a low profile so as not to be seen, She led the two out of the ballroom and into a side passage. Before pushing Jaina into Xander and then started talking. "There, that's better."

"Why are you helping us?" Xander asked, in a moment of confusion.

"I have my reasons," The cat masked girl replied coyly. " Let's just say you have been sworn to certain parties and they don't want to see you dead. Not that you could get killed so easily. Isn't that right, Alexander?"

"What do you want, Cheshire? Or to be more precise, what does Ra's al Ghul want with me?" was the firm reply Xander gave with his eyes almost burning a hole into the would-be assassin.

The assassin of the League of Shadows covered where her mouth would be with a sleeve covered hand. "Oh, you are clever," She purred in amusement. "Don't go digging too deeply into the dark, though. Or something might just cut your head off for looking, darling," she said as she reached forward and gently stroked his chin.

Xander looked at her in confusion, "Why are you acting like you know me?"

Hand falling limply to her side, the assassin clicked her tongue in annoyance, "So it's as we feared, you have forgotten."

"Forgotten what?" Xander asked. 'What the fuck was the other me… I? He, up to?' Xander thought.

Flicking his forehead, "You really don't remember me, do you Shujin?" Cheshire said, sounding hurt. She then cleared her throat and said more professionally. "Well, We planned for this. If you want answers, head to Canada."

"OK, I'll bite. What's in Canada?" Xander asked, really confused, what could be in the land of maple syrup.

"The reason you can't remember me in the first place, Shujin," She glanced at Jaina, and added, "You're lucky I'm not the jealous type, you know?" Flicking her hair behind her head as she walked away, She finished with. "If you go down this way and take a left. You'll make it to the servants quarters, which will quickly lead you outside. I suggest you leave as quickly as you can. See you around Shujin," with her part said the assassin then disappeared before both Xander and Jaina's eyes.

Looking back at Jaina, he said, "I have no idea what the fuck just happened… But I'm also not the type to look a gift horse in the mouth, so I'd better get you out of here while I have the chance."

"I can handle myself, Xander," Jaina assured him, "What are we going to do about those robbers?"

"Calling the police sounds like a good idea," Xander replied, as he made his way towards the servants quarters and to the freedom that lay beyond it.

The Indian woman nodded, as that did seem like the safest course of action. Considering their predicament, she then went down a different line of questioning, "Who was that woman? You seemed to know her name."

Making his way through the narrow passageway Xander replied, "Not her name, but I knew her code name. Cheshire, she's a hired assassin. I have no idea how she knows me, but she seems to know me."

"Were you, or your family, involved in illicit affairs or anything related to assassination?" questioned Jaina.

Xander shrugged. "I have no idea. I can't remember anything since before that accident a couple days ago."

Jaina covered her mouth with her hands. "That's right. You were in a car accident just a couple days ago.. T-boned by a tanker truck, I believe. Wasn't it?"

"I think it was, yeah. I don't remember much from the crash…" by accident or design Xander's memories since coming to this new world were fuzzy at best. Perhaps what was going on with him now was all intentionally done by the Imps. 'After all,' He thought. 'I need to have an origin story for all these powers I suddenly have, and for not remembering any of this, so they're probably just making up a backstory for me. Fan-fucking-tastic.'

The two came out the narrow tunnel into a small room that looked like it had manya lot of Alfred's personal effects in it. An extra suit hanging up a small dresser, a full length mirror sitting in the corner, personal items, some pictures of Bruce when he was younger. As well as pictures of Thomas and Martha Wayne sitting on the dresser, and it also had a back door. One that looked like it could be opened and led to the outside right off the kitchen. He said to Jaina,"You get out of here, and phone for help as soon as you can get the police. I'm going back there and I'm going to… take care of things."

Grabbing him by his arm as he turned to leave, the heiress said, "Don't be. Don't be stupidly heroic. You're going to get yourself killed if you go back in there. You have nothing to prove to these people."

"Didn't you hear, Cheshire?" Xander asked with a grin as he unleashed his serrated adamantium claws with an audible snicket. "I'm really hard to kill. Now get out of here Jaina, and be safe."

"You're a mutant," The Indian woman whispered under her breath.

"Yeah, sorry I didn't mention it. It's a new development that I discovered quite recently," Xander said honestly. "Now get out of here, before the robbers show up and come looking for us."

Planting a kiss on his cheek, just in front of his mutton chops he'd started growing, Jaina said "Don't die. You owe me a date," Jaina then ran outside.

Now that she was gone, Xander took out his Lantern ring, black as pitch out of his pocket, and slipped it on. Saying, "Ring?"

"Yes, Sir?" The ring said with a British accent.

"Firstly, I'd like it if you would, at your own discretion, speak to me either out loud or, telepathically. Secondly, I need a costume."

"Certainly, Sir. Is there a sort of emblem you would like? On the chest or something of that sort?" His ring asked.

"Put it on the chest. Make it the Green Lantern symbol with a lightning bolt going through it, and have bat wings coming out the side, also I want all of it to be surrounded by Superman's emblem," commanded Xander to the ring.

"Color sir?" The ring asked.

Thinking for a moment, Xander replied, "Red, make the suit primarily black.

"Is there anything else you would like to add to the costume, Sir?" The ring asked.

"I want a cape and a cowl, but I want the cowl to look like the superhero Wolverines mask, and make the mask red too."

"Certainly, Sir. Is that all?" The ring asked.

Xanders snapped his fingers together as he did think of one last thing, "There is one last thing. Remember to add spaces in-between the knuckles on the gloves. For my claws to pop out. Don't want to keep ripping the suit you made for me."

"Very good Sir. Synthesizing suit now. Hold on, this might… Tickle," stated the ring in british monotone.

A black light emitted from his ring and slowly scanned upwards on his form and as it passed over his form a Black cloth like material was left in its place. It was form fitting, showing off his muscular physique, but also thick as if he was covered in a layer of Kevlar or some other dense material. When it got to his chest the diamond symbol of Superman appeared along with the Green Lantern Lantern sigil with a lightning bolt of the Flash striking through it, and then the stylized bat wings of Batman flared out at the ends.

He quickly felt his face being covered by a thick, metallic, almost cowl, and going to Alfreds mirror, that he had set up in the corner. He looked at his suit in its totality.

He was wearing dark gray boots, thick black pants, his torso was also covered in some thick black mesh upon which was emblazoned Superman's outer crest in which the Green Lantern symbol flared with Batman's wings out the side and the Flash's lightning bolt going straight down the middle. On his head was a cowl that had Wolverine's signature mask flaring out at the sides, in red. His gauntlets were also gray in color and flanged much like Batman's own and with an audible snicket, he unleashed his claws through the slits in the gloves.

Deciding to try something, he channeled the speed force through his suit and as he did so, light and golden lightning bolt trim etched itself along the edgings of his clothing. "Is this suit Speed Force resistant?" Xander asked his ring, worried the friction may break down the suit.

"Yes, Sir. The unknown energy source you quantified as the Speed Force, has synchronized itself with the ring. Ring percentage is at 100% and rising sir," spoke the ring A.I.

"Groovy," Xander replied, doing his best Ash Williams impression. Cracking his neck, he said, "Alright, let's take this new suit for a test drive."

So thinking he flashed to the ballroom in a burst of speed.

(...)

Tattletale thought everything was going great. They had tens of thousands of dollars in jewelry, and were rapidly filling up their bags. Not to mention they were literally stealing the silverware right off the tables. 'I was a bit worried at first considering this was the Batman's home turf, but he hasn't bothered to show up. Which I'm thankful for.'

She stood in front of Bruce Wayne himself now and gave her now bulging burlap sack a shake. "Nice and easy, Mr Wayne. Take off the Rolex and the diamond cufflinks. And if you'd be so kind as to throw your wallet in there too. And your phone, I'd appreciate it very much," She said with a smirk.

"You don't want to do this, young lady," He warned even as he did as she the cuff links off of his shirt and the Rolex off of his wrist. Even as he reached into his jacket pocket and pulled out his phone and wallet.

"He's right you know," A gruff voice gruffly growled behind her, forcing her to spin on her heel and see a menacing figure standing behind her, "You really don't wanna do this."

"Check this Crudmuncher out," Gizmo guffed, "He can't even get his fake batman costume right."

'Oh Giz is right, the colors are all wrong,' Tattletale thought to herself, noticing the red and black cowl and gold lighting bolts that reminded her slightly of flash, and her heart started to beat again after it nearly stopped.

"I'm not batman… I'm worse," The figure growled. Before he disappeared in a burst of speed, his body seeming to break down into black and red bats as he was suddenly behind Gizmo gripping the metal limbs of his backpack his arm started to vibrate so fast it was a blur, and all that kinetic energy transferred itself to Gizmo's tech and it began to shake apart screw by screw and bolt by bolt until it fell apart leaving the diminutive toddler on the ground, helpless.

"Why you…"Mammoth growled out advancing on this new unknown foe, fist raised as he prepared to splat this two bit punk into paste.

Yet this new arrival grabbed his fist, flipped him over his shoulder, and took him out of the fight by just stomping on his nose until there was a loud and audible crack. Looking at the remaining children, he said. "I'll give you one last chance, drop what you've stolen and leave. Otherwise you're going to end up like him." The figure nodded down at Mammoth, who still had blood gushing down his nose as he lay unconscious.

In response, Bitch Let out a shrill whistle and pointed at him. And four hulking masses of bone and teeth that could have been called dogs at one point, leapt at this strange Batman wannabe.

"Don't say I didn't warn you," The figure said as he unleashed metal claws from in between his knuckles with inaudible snicket, even as the quadruped beast lunged at him. Fangs, gleaming with saliva in the dim light of the ballroom.

They were fast, but he was faster. His claws raked left, right and up as it slashed the throats of the demonic looking dogs. The beasts landed in a heap on either side of him, and the one in the center was impaled through the head up through the throat. He held it up with both hands over his head and then ripped his claws out of its neck. Blood spraying through the air, as he stared back at the teenagers. Daring them to try again.

"Keep this up and the next thing that dies won't be a bunch of fucking pets," He growled.

Taking several steps away from Bruce Wayne,Tattletale asked, "Who the hell even are you?"

"Who cares about that? He killed my dogs," Bitch growled angrily.

"I think we need to get out of here Grue now," The Pink cat-eyed Jinx said as she grabbed Gizmo and began to retreat towards the door.

"Bitch grab Mammoth, I'll cover our escape," The boy in the scary Halloween mask said.

"Boy, walk away," Xander advised, keeping his tone as menacing as he could.

In response, the kid just raised his fists as if preparing to fight.

Sighing, Xander blitzed him in a burst of inhuman speed, and rabbit punched him in the stomach, before grabbing him by the head, and proceeded to knee him in the face until he became limp.

Tossing him aside. Xander turned to the others, who hadn't even made it outside the doors yet. "Please just surrender already, I really don't want to waste my night with you guys."

In response, the girl in the psychedelic purple and black outfit with the eye in the center reached behind her back and pulled out a flash bang grenade, pulling the pin, she tossed it towards him, saying "Catch, tall, dark, and broody."

Instead of waiting for the flashbang to go off like a normal person would. Xander chopped it into thirds with his claws and continued to stalk towards the group. Sounding bored as he said, "Look, I'm really getting tired of this already. Just surrender, please?"

Suddenly, eight blades burst through his back and his chest, Glancing behind him, he found Cheshire, her mask covered in blood splatter.

"Why?" He growled out, as he glared at her, something likely a poison was inhibiting his healing factor.

The assassin sounded genuinely apologetic as she said, "Sorry, Shujin, but I just can't have my team dying on me… Have some pleasant dreams about me, ok?" SheAs she pulled her claws out of his back, Leaving him on the floor to bleed out.

"Let's go, we're done here," He heard her say as he began to lose consciousness.

(...)

Xander woke up in a black void. He felt like he was standing on something solid but it might as well have been black stone for all he knew, since he couldn't see a damn thing. "Okay I died… I know I'm not the most religious person, but I kinda expected pearly gates not… nothing." He looked around, couldn't see or hear anyone and commented on that fact. "I'd like to see someone's manager please? Is there like, I dunno, an afterlife help desk or something? A waiting room? Can I at least get some damn light, a chair, and maybe some out of date magazines to read while I wait to find out where I'll be spending my eternity?"

Suddenly just like Yahweh once said, "Let there be light," Xander was momentarily blinded as his eyes adjusted to the warm yellow light coming from a… reading lamp?

Yes, an antique looking reading lamp was sitting on a small side table and in the chair next to it was a pale woman in gothic attire with an ankh tattoo under her left eye. She was currently reading "The Complete Works of Edgar Allan Poe." but set it aside when she turned on the light, and motioned to the equally plush chair across from her before she said, "Take a seat hun. We have much to discuss."

Doing so Xander sat silently, observing the woman for a moment before he asked, "So, what kinda sexy goth Grim Reaper are you supposed to be, lady?"

The woman laughed, as if he'd said something amusing, "You have no idea how… accurate that statement is." she let out an amused dry laugh and set her book aside on the table. "And thank you, I can't even remember the last time I was complimented."

"Your welcome… Miss Reaper. So… I'm dead, what happens now?" Xander asked as he ran his fingers nervously up and down the leather of the arms of the armchair.

Again, the woman let out an amused laugh. "Have you already forgotten you have the powers of Doomsday? For you, death is a… inconvenience. Or a short nap. Whichever you prefer."

Xander blinked, he had forgotten that actually. A lot was going on and it was a lot to process in a short amount of time. "Oh right, so is this what most folks would call a near death experience. I mean, you are only like, ten feet away from me."

Letting out a sigh as she laughed again, the woman looked away to the side, "I guess you could say that," She moved her black mane of hair behind her ear as she said, "So, how do you like your circumstances so far?"

Xander opened his mouth, closed it, then rubbed his chin as he hummed in thought before replying earnestly, "Umm… it kinda sucks but I get what those two idiots were doing. They're trying to give me a tragic, but heroic backstory. Hence the memory loss from a car crash of all things, when I have an adamantium coated skeleton."

The reaper nodded, "Not the most original amnesia, but it works," She smiled at him kindly as she said, "Still, if you're here, and you're not in control of your body, then what's stopping your Ring from possessing your corpse?"

"Oh shit." Xander swore as his eyes widened in understanding. His ring wasn't a green lantern ring… it was a Black one.

(...)

Bruce Wayne watched in morbid fascination as the corpse of Alexander Lavelle Harris rose up from the ground jerkily like a zombie, or a crudely puppeted marionette, before its body was covered in black lightning and it blitzed off into the night. "Well everyone, I think it would be best to end the festivities here for the night. I don't know about you, but seeing someone get stabbed on my ballroom floor has certainly put me out of the mood."

The guests readily agreed and hastily departed, but not before wishing Bruce well. Once they'd gone Damien turned to him and asked, "What now Father?"

"Now, I need to get to the Watchtower, as much as I'd like to, I can't track him down on my own. I need help. I need the Justice League Avengers."

(...)

Word Count: 12,670 Number of pages: 28 Date Completed: 1/28/2023

(...)

AN: Welcome everyone to… this thing of mine that is a mishmash of Marvel, DC, and Worm. With Alexander Lavelle Harris from Buffy the Vampire Slayer as the protagonist. Yeah it's a thing. He is vengeance, he is the Knight, he is Chiropteran. (The Scientific name for the family of Bats, in case you were curious). But yeah, is he kinda OP? Yes, do I care? No because a lot of shit in Marvel, DC, and Worm are OP as all hell too. So sit back, relax, and enjoy the ride. Now a message from our Friendly Neighborhood Snowy and his Arch-Nemesis First Hassan

Snowy: hey snow here this chapter has been on the back burner for a while and I just finished editing along with hassan. Thank you so much for your love and kindness folks Enjoy the fourth story to be entered into the vault.

First Hassan: Not available due to Snowy not messaging him to write author's note.